Comparison of simulated and observed vegetation for the mid-Holocene in Europe
- 1Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique, Université de Liège, Bat. B5c, 17 Allée du Six Août, 4000 Liège, Belgium
- 2Université Montpellier II, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, case postale 61 CNRS UMR 5554, 34095 Montpellier, France
- 1Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique, Université de Liège, Bat. B5c, 17 Allée du Six Août, 4000 Liège, Belgium
- 2Université Montpellier II, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, case postale 61 CNRS UMR 5554, 34095 Montpellier, France
Abstract. Past climates provide a testing bed for the predictive ability of general circulation models. A number of studies have been performed for periods where the climate forcings are relatively different from the present and there is a good coverage of data. For one of these periods, the mid-Holocene (6 ka before present), models and data show a good match over northern Europe, but disagree over the south, where the data show cooler summers and winters and more humid conditions. Understanding the reasons for this disagreement is important given the expected vulnerability of the region under scenarios of future change. We present here a set of different past climate scenarios and sensitivity studies with a global vegetation model in order to try and understand this disagreement. The results show that the vegetation changes can be explained by a combination of both increased precipitation, and a reduction in the length of the growing season, controlled by a reduction in winter temperatures. The matching simulated circulation patterns support the hypothesis of increased westerly flow over this region.
S. Brewer et al.


-
RC S297: 'Anonymous Referee #2', Anonymous Referee #2, 27 Jun 2009
-
RC S302: 'Review of the manuscript', Anonymous Referee #1, 09 Jul 2009


-
RC S297: 'Anonymous Referee #2', Anonymous Referee #2, 27 Jun 2009
-
RC S302: 'Review of the manuscript', Anonymous Referee #1, 09 Jul 2009
S. Brewer et al.
S. Brewer et al.
Viewed
HTML | XML | Total | BibTeX | EndNote | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
803 | 1,190 | 125 | 2,118 | 64 | 97 |
- HTML: 803
- PDF: 1,190
- XML: 125
- Total: 2,118
- BibTeX: 64
- EndNote: 97
Cited
11 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Reconstructing the spatial distribution of large vegetation formations during the mid‐Holocene in Romania: a predictive modeling approach C. Patriche et al. 10.1002/jqs.3243
- Circum-Mediterranean fire activity and climate changes during the mid-Holocene environmental transition (8500-2500 cal. BP) B. Vannière et al. 10.1177/0959683610384164
- Early–Middle Holocene vegetation history, climate change and human activities at Lago Riane (Ligurian Apennines, NW Italy) N. Branch 10.1007/s00334-012-0384-9
- Holocene extinction dynamics of Equus hydruntinus, a late-surviving European megafaunal mammal J. Crees & S. Turvey 10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.03.003
- Global biomass burning: a synthesis and review of Holocene paleofire records and their controls J. Marlon et al. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.11.029
- Understanding the rates of expansion of the farming system in Europe J. Bocquet-Appel et al. 10.1016/j.jas.2011.10.010
- Response of Mallorca shelf ecosystems to an early Holocene humid phase Y. Milker et al. 10.1016/j.marmicro.2012.04.001
- Mid-Late Holocene environmental change and human activities in the northern Apennines, Italy N. Branch & N. Marini 10.1016/j.quaint.2013.07.053
- The Neolithisation of Liguria (NW Italy): An environmental archaeological and palaeoenvironmental perspective N. Branch et al. 10.1179/1749631414Y.0000000024
- Terrestrial climate variability and seasonality changes in the Mediterranean region between 15 000 and 4000 years BP deduced from marine pollen records I. Dormoy et al. 10.5194/cp-5-615-2009
- Holocene seasonality changes in the central Mediterranean region reconstructed from the pollen sequences of Lake Accesa (Italy) and Tenaghi Philippon (Greece) O. Peyron et al. 10.1177/0959683610384162